For the more advanced amateur who wishes to do good portrait photography, Washington Photo Safari offers a workshop on the principles of good indoor portrait lighting and posing with professional studio lighting equipment and backdrops, taught by professional portrait photographer Bob Blanken at his studio in Bethesda, MD.

If you want to learn how to use strobe lighting and professional backdrops or set up a studio in your home to photograph your children, or your friends and colleagues in their homes or offices with a portable mini-studio, or if you want to become a part-time portrait photographer in your neighborhood, come join us for a half-day intermediate-level session on how to:

1) pose children and adults indoors in natural window light
2) use bounce and swivel flash units and professional strobes and reflectors to achieve fill lighting
3) select and hang professional backdrops with portable frames
4) determine correct exposure and lighting on the face through use of hand-held exposure meter
5) achieve a pose or composition that best reflects the subject's personality or interest
6) place more light on one side of the face (main) and less light on the other (fill)
7) select lenses for SLR portrait work that blur the background
8) determine pricing for your informal portrait photography services

Bob Blanken is past president of The Professional Photographers Society of Greater Washington and the Maryland Professional Photographers Association. His photographs and albums have won numerous awards. He is VP of Education for the Greater Washington, DC Chapter of International Special Events Society.

Note: Attendance at Informal Indoor Portraiture Beginner Level (or equivalent experience) is required for admission to this class.

Meet at Bob Blanken Studio, 6604 Persimmon Tree Road, Bethesda MD 20817.